We have a new Wench! Like several other Wenches, Andrea Pickens started out as a traditional Regency writer. Last autumn, she did an interview with us HYPERLINK "http://tinyurl.com/cfehgj" http://tinyurl.com/cfehgj and became an honorary Word Wench. Now we've lured her into becoming a regular.

Andrea will be starting as a half time demi wench, and she’s beginning with a bang (sorry, I couldn't resist <g>) by blogging about the history of gunpowder. Andrea, the floor is yours! The roof was, too, until you blew it off. <g> Mary Jo

A Short History of Gunpowder

I’m absolutely delighted to be joining the illustrious ranks of the Word Wenches. My fellow authors have set the Wenchly bar at a lofty height, so I will lace up my sneakers (you will soon learn that I am the resident “jock” among other things) and make a jump at rising to the occasion.

I write Regency-set historicals, but I have a confession to make—some readers have complained that my books are NOT traditional Regencies. And they are right! My current trilogy is a swashbuckling, sexy series featuring three best friends who have trained at Mrs. Merlin’s Academy for Select Young Ladies, a secret school for female spies. (Think James Bond meets Jane Austen!)

But enough background—now on to the fun stuff. As those of you who are regular visitors here know, research is a big part of writing historicals. Like the other Wenches, I love poking around for the facts—many of them arcane and esoteric—that add depth and texture to a story. So I’ve decided to make my debut with a BANG . . . so to speak.

My ‘Spy’ series involves not only swordplay and seduction, but also pocket pistols and pyrotechnics. Which require gunpowder. (Okay, a little shameless self-promotion here—Seduced By A Spy, in which gunpowder figures prominently in the plot, just won the Romantic Times Readers Choice Award for Best Historical Romantic Adventure!)

Seeing as my experience with black powder—as traditional gunpowder is called—consists of watching Fourth of July fireworks, I figured I had better learn a little bit about the subject. And that sparked what turned out to be a fascinating foray through history. Without further ado, allow me to illuminate you on just a few of the highlights that I discovered!

Gunpowder was invented in China sometime around the ninth century. Ironically enough, the alchemists of the time were looking to create a potion for eternal youth. Instead they ended up with something they called the “fire drug.” Gunpowder consists of three basic elements—saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal. The proportions were tweaked over the centuries to create more explosive power, but until the advent of our modern synthetic propellants, the basic formula remained unchanged.

Over the years, Chinese military leaders came to realize that the invention could be used as a formidable weapon. By the 1200s, gunpowder “bombs” filled with rocks or bits of metal were being thrown or dropped on an enemy. The Chinese also proved quite inventive in naming their new arsenal. Some of my favorites include “Bandit-Burning, Vision-Confusing Magic Fire-Ball” and “Bone-Burning and Bruising Fire Oil Magic Bomb”. Next came fire lances, which could launch arrows or spears. I’m particularly fond of “Nine-Arrow Heart-Piercing Magic-Poison Thunderous Fire Erupter.” The name alone must have been enough to rout an opposing army! The first gun on record is a small cannon, which dates from 1288.

It’s not exactly certain how gunpowder came to the West, but the first reference to it in Europe appeared in 1267, when Roger Bacon, the famous medieval thinker, made mention of it in a letter to the Pope. By 1300 there is written evidence of a formula.

In 1346, Edward III of England used cannons to help his army of knights and archers defeat the much larger force of the French King. The Battle of Crecy is considered to mark the end of chivalry, as armor proved no match for the new weaponry. The use of cannons quickly spread throughout Europe.

Throughout the next few centuries, the methods for grinding gunpowder were refined, in order to add more force and stability. At first, powder was dampened to a paste, then formed into balls, which lasted longer than dry powder and were easier to transport. However, the process of “corning,” or forcing the paste through different sized screens to create “grains” was invented, and it remains the standard to this day. (Gunpowder is corned according to the intended weapon.)

The technique of casting metal for cannons also underwent great changes. Early European bombards grew to mammoth proportions. (“Mad Margaret” weighed 18 tons and had a barrel 16 feet long.} By the Renaissance, the technology had evolved enough that the smooth bore muzzle-loading cannon of the era would remain basically unchanged until the late 1800s. (Both Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo were involved in designing fortifications to withstand cannonfire.)

Not to be outdone by their Chinese counterparts, European gunners were quite inventive when it came to naming their weapons. “The Brutal Butcher” is one early moniker, and Henry VIII had a battery of cannons known as “The Twelve Apostles.”

The earliest hand guns began appearing around 1400. At first they were heavy, awkward weapons that needed a tripod to hold them up. Various mechanisms were invented to hold the gunpowder charge, as well as spark the initial tiny explosion needed to propel a bullet through the gun barrel. Matchlocks, wheellocks, flintlocks . . . don’t ask. Suffice it to say that man was quite inventive in creating a lethal weapon.

The moral impact of gunpowder was not lost on theologians and intellectuals. Many called it “the devil’s distillate ” and blamed it for the death of chivalry. The stench and smoke given off by gunpowder added to its Satanic image. Echoing modern sentiment, a number of people bemoaned the fact that gunpowder made “violence too freely available.”

During the Age of Exploration, Vasco de Gama helped establish a lucrative trading empire for Portugal through use of gunpowder, and other European seafaring nations were quick to follow. The Conquistadors conquered the mighty Aztecs with a tiny force of soldiers and the “devil’s distillate.” Farther north, the French and English used their guns to carve out colonies in the New World. And in Africa, gunpowder was instrumental in allowing the slave trade to begin.

By the 1700s, war had become a carefully choreographed dance of opposing armies. Each soldier was now armed with a firearm, and arrayed in elegant, precise formations, they would march to within close range and exchange ritual fire until casualties forced one side to withdraw. Conflicts were escalating. And so was the carnage. (On a brighter note, George Frederich Handel was commissioned to create the lovely “Music for Royal Fireworks” in celebration of the 1748 Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle, which ended the War of Austrian Succession.)

The famous American Revolutionary War phrase, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” was not just manly bravado. It was based on the fact that muskets are wildly inaccurate at anything other than close range. That’s because it’s a smooth bore weapon (the inside of the barrel is, well, smooth!)

Rifling—which refers to a circular groove cut into the metal—imparts spin to a bullet, which adds stability to its flight and thus makes it far more likely to hit its target. The British thought the Americans—and their show of nascent Yankee ingenuity—were very unsporting to use their accurate hunting rifles to pick off Redcoats from great distances.

Re-equipping whole armies with the new technology was frightfully expensive, so most military forces fought with smooth bore muskets until well into the 1800s. The classic British “Brown Bess” musket was first issued in 1703 and remained in use for 140 years. A flintlock weapon, it could be fired every 12 seconds by a well- trained soldier.

But I digress . . .

As the Napoleonic Wars engulfed Europe, the production of gunpowder became a critical matter. Saltpeter is a bacterial waste product and occurs naturally in soil. But war demands LOTS of saltpeter. The substance is also found in human and animal waste. (Those of you who are squeamish might want to skip over the next paragraph.) In France, government officials called “Petermen” had the right to dig up a farmer’s barnyard to collect nitrate-rich soil—a law that was bitterly resented.

The English, through the East India trading empire, imported large amounts of cheap bird dung from India for the task. Even so, during the height of the wars, the government considered passing a law that would have required innkeepers to collect the urine of their patrons in barrels. (Brandy was said to produce the most desirable, er, raw material.)

By the 1820s, the old gunpowder cartridge—a greased paper cylinder filled with powder and bullet that was rammed by hand down the barrel of a musket—was giving way to a new technology. The “percussion cap” bullet used a small amount of gunpowder at the base of a metal cylinder. The strike of a gun’s hammer would ignite the powder and fire the metal projectile.

Combined with other innovations from inventors such as Samuel Colt, firearms became even more deadly. Colt’s invention of a multiple chamber to hold bullets allowed the development of the “six-shooter.” By the time of the American Civil War, armies were equipped with all manner of weapons that could fire with frightening rapidity. Again, the death toll in war grew to gruesome proportions.

Traditional black powder became obsolete in the late 1800s. Alfred Nobel—of Nobel Prize fame—developed the use of nitroglycerin, or dynamite, which was far more effective for blasting in mines and civil engineering. Modern chemistry also led to the discovery of better, more powerful “smokeless” powder to use in guns.

Today, gunpowder is still used in fireworks and for reenactments of traditional battles. The next time you watch a Fourth of July celebration, breath deep and smell the acrid scent of burned powder. Listen to the thunderous bangs and watch the thick smoke cloud the air. Let it spark your imagination, and carry you back in history to the epic battles of Bunker Hill, Borodino and Waterloo. It’s a living, breathing reminder of man’s incredible—and sometimes frightening—creative spirit.

When asked to name the most influential inventions in history, most intellectuals include gunpowder and printing among their choices. As both an author and an aficionado of history, I would have to agree. What historical inventions do you find fascinating? Terrifying?

(Next post I’ll be talking about another type of projectile, but one that is far more light-hearted. For those of you who ever wondered about the origins of tennis, check back here as the summer gets into full swing. And for those of you who want to know more about gunpowder, I highly recommend Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards and Pyrotechnics, by Jack Kelly,)

And oops, forgot to mention that I will be giving away a signed copy of Seduced By A Spy, which features lots of gunpowder talk, to a winner drawn at random to one of the people who leave a comment here between now and midnight, May 2.

I met Pati Nagle at a Novelists, Inc. conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As a native New Mexican, this was just up the road for her. I first noticed her gorgeous, Pre-Raphaelite blond hair, which we romance writers often give to our heroines, but seldom see in real life. <G> Pati and I started talking, and haven’t stopped since. ( http://patinagle.com )

Pati’s first four novels were romantic historicals about the Civil War in the West, a large chunk of history that isn’t well known. She’s also written numerous science fiction and fantasy short stories. Her new romantic fantasy novel, The Betrayal, is just out in April, so she’s joining us for a chat.

MJP: Pati, tell us about your new book. I read it early to give a quote, and can vouch for the fact that it’s a fine read, and the romance is absolutely integral to the story. Tell us more!

PN: It's about elves (ælven), because they are one of my favorite aspects of fantasy. Often elves play only a secondary role in fantasy stories, but here they are the main focus, and the story comes from their unique culture and history. The romance grows out of the rare gift of mindspeech shared by the heroine, Eliani, and the hero, Turisan, who are strangers when the book begins. She is distraught when they discover their connection, because mindspeech is very intimate and she is still recovering from a past relationship that went sour.

MJP: Pati, what is the difference between elves and the fey? Are they different entities, from different mythic traditions, or the same guys with different names? And are all elves as good looking as Legolas? <G>

PN: Generally speaking (and please note that I am not a scholar), elves originate with Norse/Germanic/Scandinavian traditions of beautiful, magical, human-like beings. Fairy (faerie, fey) legends are more from Western European/Old French/Celtic myths and are more widely dispersed both in location and form.

Faeries are often shape-shifters, so they can appear any size, winged or wingless, and even as animals. They are also much more overtly malicious toward humans, luring them away to Faerie, swapping human babies for fairy changelings, and so on. Although there are occasional stories of elves doing that sort of thing, it's far more common with the fey.

Elves began as a class of minor deities, emphasis on nature and fertility, who were immortal and eternally youthful. They lived in forests, caves, wells, springs, etc. The earliest descriptions of elves are found in Norse mythology. An example is the Völundarkviða, or "Tale of Völundr." Völundr was a smith, and is called "prince of the elves" in the poem.

His legend was widespread among early Germanic peoples, and he appears in numerous stories, including Beowulf, in which he is Weland, the maker of Beowulf's mail shirt. In Britain he became Wayland the Smith, whose underground smithy is said to be near Uffington, Oxfordshire. Legend has it that if you leave your horse by the entrance to the smithy along with a silver groat, the horse will be shod by morning.

Tolkein popularized the Germanic-style elves for modern audiences, and they're now a staple of fantasy. Mine are a lot like his, because it was his elves I fell in love with in my impressionable youth.

Tolkein borrowed the name Gandalf from the Norse Völuspá, the story of the creation of humans, which included a catalogue of Dwarf names. "Gandalfr" was on that list, along with Bífurr, Báfurr, Bömburr, Dóri, Óri, Nóri, Fili, Kili...sound familiar?

I've always had a taste for elves. Witness this photo of my spouse in our wilder, younger, SCA days:

MJP: Very cool elven lore! And seeing your dh’s picture makes me wish I’d joined the Society for Creative Anachronism when I was single. <G> I’ve always wondered about the differences between elves and fey. Now I know why Tolkien’s elves were mostly blond: it’s that Norse ancestry. <g>

Pati, The Betrayal is the first of a series, though it ends at a satisfying spot. What future plans do you have for your characters?

PN: Hmm...spoiler alert? I'll try not to give too much away.

The ælven are being drawn unwilling into war, with all the sorrow and tragedy that attends it. Eliani and Turisan are the bright hope of their people, using their mindspeech to tip the balance, though this means they must make their own sacrifices. Shalár, the leader of the exiled alben, is gathering her own army to cross the mountains and take back their rightful home. The unresolved conflict between the ælven and their alben kindred is about to be reopened.

MJP: You’ve written historical novels, and now fantasy. These are very different genres. What differences did you find in writing them?

PN: The main difference is that in the historicals I was dealing with the real world and events that actually happened. In the fantasy I made up both. Less research, but more creation work. All told, about the same amount of work, though. With the fantasy I am less concerned about getting letters informing me that I have my facts wrong. <g>

MJP: You and I have both written romantic fantasy, but I come from the romance end and you come from the fantasy end. Do you think that makes a difference? Or is romantic fantasy a new blend that falls right in the middle?

PN: I don't know that it makes a huge difference. I'm a fan of romance, too. I devoured Georgette Heyer's work in my youth and while I haven't had a straight romance novel published, all my books have romantic elements. With romantic fantasy there's a little more of the classical fantasy worldbuilding and complexity, both of which I love. It's really just a shift of focus.

MJP: What was the biggest mistake you made when you first began writing?

PN: Waiting to hear back from an editor who requested the first book before starting another project. I wasted a lot of time that way. I should have put it out of my mind and written the next thing. Now I do.

MJP: What do you consider key elements of a great story?

PN: Characters I care about and can cheer for. Problems that bring out the best in those characters. A world that is three-dimensional and interesting, and fits with the characters and story.

MJP: What is the best part about being a writer? The most frustrating?

PN: The most frustrating has to be the business side of writing: contracts, tracking, paperwork. That stuff all has to be dealt with, and is as far removed from creativity as it can be. The reward for doing all that is the time I get to spend in my writing chair, playing in my fantasy world with the characters that I love.

As for the best part, there are a lot of wonderful things about writing, but I think the best for me is learning that the stories I've made up have given pleasure to other people. I still get that giddy, Sally Field “You really like me!” feeling when I receive a letter from someone who's fallen in love with my work.

Pati and I are doing a session on the different kinds of fantasy and paranormal at the national RWA conference in Washington, DC this July (it’s called Hot Vampires, Demon Slayers, and Enchantresses: the Many Flavors of Fantasy). So tell us what you think to help us develop our presentation.

Elves Rock!

Mary Jo

PS: YIKES! I forgot that Pati will be giving away a free, signed copy of The Betrayal to one of the people who leave comments between now and midnight Thursday, April 30. This proves that talk is valuable!

Hi all, Anne here, introducing my friend English historical romance author, Nicola Cornick. We started off as "baby" authors at much the same time, and struck up a cyber friendship from our different corners of the world. Nicola's written twenty-three historical romances for Harlequin Mills and Boon (Harlequin Historicals) and seven for HQN Books. As well as being popular with readers all over the world, she's also had critical acclaim; she's been a RITA finalist twice, has twice finalled in the Romantic Novelists’ Association's Romance Prize and has been nominated for several Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards.

I am delighted to welcome Nicola to the Word Wench blog.

NC: Thank you very much for inviting me to blog with the Word Wenches, Anne! It’s a great pleasure to be here.

AG: Nicola, tell us a little about yourself.

NC:Well, to introduce myself - I was born in Yorkshire, in the North of England, of largely Scandinavian ancestry. According to the studies on personality types that apparently makes me practical, down to earth, very relationship-oriented and conscientious! It’s certainly true that I value family, friends - and pets - very highly indeed and that I work hard and fret over the stuff that doesn’t get done. The flipside of the character is apparently a tendency to sadness (not helped by all those long, dark northern winters) but actually I’ve found this useful for my writing! Romantic Times reviews frequently comment that my books are very emotional and I think I’m accessing that “northern melancholy.” But most of the time I’m a jolly soul because I love my writing life and consider myself very lucky.

When I’m not writing I’m usually to be found working for the National Trust at Ashdown House, more of which later, or training guide dog puppies, or travelling! I have American cousins and love to visit them and I’ve been fortunate enough to travel all over the world although I still have Australia and New Zealand on my “must visit” list!

AG: Oh, good, you must come one day — we'd love to have you. The Australian and NZ conferences are in August each year. (hint hint)

What drew you to a) writing fiction and b) historical romance?

NC: I never made a conscious decision to become a writer, which may sound odd but looking back I can see I was rather slow in working out what I really wanted to do as a career! After I graduated from college in London I became a university administrator and followed that career for 15 years. It was fine but it didn’t set my world alight. I wanted to work with history in some way and kept considering other jobs but nothing really appealed.

At the same time I was an avid reader and had been since childhood. Like so many historical authors I started out reading Georgette Heyer when I was in my teens (Devil’s Cub was my first) and I devoured books by writers including Anya Seton, Mary Stewart – both the historicals and the contemporary novels – and Victoria Holt. Then I discovered Mills & Boon historical romances at my local library and I was in seventh heaven! I read every Mills & Boon historical they had plus all the 1970s UK Regency authors as well such as Sheila Walsh, Clare Darcy and Alice Chetwynd Ley. I was desperate for new reading matter and I kept popping in to the library every week hoping that my favourite authors would have written something new. Eventually the librarians had to explain to me that it took longer than a week to produce a book!

By the time I was eighteen I had run out of historical romances to read so I started to write my own. It took me twelve years to be published, Mills & Boon rejected the book three times, but eventually it became my first Regency True Colours. I can remember the moment when I suddenly realised that this was what I wanted to do. It was so exciting – and hey, it only took me 12 years to work it out!

AG: I'm so very glad you persisted, and True Colours is a lovely book. Your passion for history is not simply related to your writing, is it? Tell us how history permeates some of the other areas your life, in particular your work at Ashdown House.

NC: Yes, Ashdown House is most definitely one of my passions! It’s a beautiful seventeenth century hunting lodge and I work there as a guide and a historian. I’m writing the history of the house and the Craven family who owned it. It’s taking me years and years because I keep getting distracted by obscure pieces of research and disappear off at a tangent! Not only is the house stunningly pretty and well worth a visit but the Craven family history is fascinating. The Regency Earl of Craven was the sort of man who could inspire a book. He had a successful army career, married an actress and sailed his armed schooner in the English Channel during the Napoleonic Wars, in defiance of the French privateers!

AG: He certainly sounds like a real hero.You and I were first published around the same time, and with the same editor, and I think we were some of the first non US-based authors to be published in Harlequin Historicals. Did this change anything for you?

NC: We were! You and I were the first two non US-based authors to be published in Harlequin Historicals. I remember feeling honoured to be chosen but also daunted as well. I knew very little about the US market and when I received my first reviews and started to hear from readers I realised how active and engaged the US romance community was. This was a total eye opener for me! I also discovered all the wonderful US and Australian authors writing in the Regency genre so as a reader it was amazing – seventh heaven all over again! It also made me feel the need to raise my game in a market where there were so many great books, and authors writing with such verve and freshness. So in terms of my writing development it was extremely good for me.

AG: Of course these days Harlequin Historicals and Mills and Boon historicals are both edited out of London. One of the things I always loved about the London office is that they're very open to different time periods and different settings. You yourself have written books set in a range of eras and locations – even writing a 1908 book for the Mills and Boon centenary. That sounds like fun — modern and yet not modern.

NC: I totally agree that it is one of the great strengths of HMB that they encourage authors to write historicals with such diverse backgrounds and periods. I’ve written two books for them that were set outside the Regency era. My first was Lord Greville’s Captive, which was set in the English Civil War. It’s a period of history I would love to revisit with my writing because it was a time of such intense conflict leading to equally intense passions and loyalties. The other book, the Edwardian-set one was a lot of fun to write. In some ways the period reminded me of the Regency, with its conspicuous consumption and glittering high society. What surprised me was that so many aspects of our daily life were already in place a hundred years ago. For example the London Underground was operating and was already known as the Tube, cars were becoming more frequent on the streets and if the King wanted to visit his friends he would telephone to let them know! I loved researching the fashions as well.

HMB have also published a first person Regency of mine that came out in March this year which is called Kidnapped: His Innocent Mistress. It’s good to know that I can refresh my writing by doing something different and writing a first person book was definitely different!

AG: I believe you've also written a story for Harlequin's new "Undone" e-book line. Tell us about that.

NC: It was lots of fun writing a Harlequin Historical Undone for the launch of the new line! I like writing short stories so to be asked to write one that was super-hot was super-fun! The Undone imprint really sizzles, it’s very naughty and a great way for writers to draw on their wild side! To my mind the challenge is to create something that is short and sexy but also very romantic, to build convincing characters and create a meaningful relationship between them, and all in 15 000 words max!

AG: Do you have a writing routine?You have a dog and two cats, who no doubt supervise much of your writing.

NC: Yes, they do! I imagine lots of authors find that their pets do this, including yourself! They are arch-manipulators and have me perfectly trained to fit my writing around their requirements rather than vice versa! My cats try to steal my office chair each day and really resent being thrown off. Monty, my dog, is an expert at staring. If I am so engrossed in my writing he will come up and put his head on my lap and stare fixedly at me until he breaks my concentration! I’ve written about how my writing routine is dictated by my pets on my website at: http://www.nicolacornick.co.uk/day_in_the_life.htm

AG: What's the difference between your Harlequin Historicals and your books for HQN?

NC: Well, first of all it’s a huge privilege to be able to write for both lines because they give me different challenges. My Harlequin Historicals are the ones that are more diverse in that they are set in different eras or I can try something experimental with the style, like the first person narrative.

I started writing for HQN in 2006. My editor had pointed out to me that my Harlequin Historical Regencies were becoming more and more like single titles – they were getting too long for the word count and I kept introducing secondary characters and complex sub-plots. I was very fortunate that Harlequin had established the HQN Books imprint around that time to publish mainstream romance so now I write my Regency Historicals for HQN Books and throw in secondary romances and sub-plots to my heart’s content!

AG: Lovely. It's also great that the HQN Nicola Cornicks remain available to buy longer than your series books. Will you share an extract from one your HQN books, please?

NC: Of course. Here is an extract from my most recent HQN Regency historical, Unmasked:

“I know it was you in the fountain,” he said softly, whilst her trapped mind ran back and forth over the possibilities. “You may protest if you wish but I believe I would recognise you anywhere.”

A shiver ran along Mari’s nerves and she drew the silver shawl more tightly about her shoulders. Oh yes, he recognised her from the gardens but did he know her from the tavern as well? It felt as though they were already deeply involved in a game of hunter and hunted and any admission she made could be so very dangerous.

Challenge him. See how far he will go, what he will give away…

She had always been a gambler. She had had to be in order to survive. Sometimes to throw down the gauntlet was the only way.

She gave a little shrug. “Very well. I concede that I was the woman you saw in the fountain. I thought I was unobserved. It was… careless of me.”

He flashed her a smile, a disturbingly attractive one. Her toes curled instinctively within her slippers and her heart did another giddy little skip as though she was a schoolroom miss developing a tendre rather than a mature woman of five and twenty.

“I like it that you do not pretend,” he said. His voice was intimately low. “Ninety nine women out of one hundred would have claimed not to understand me.”

If only he knew. Sometimes she forgot where the pretence began – and where it ended.

She gave him a very straight look. “Of course they would, and who could blame them? A reputation dies all too easily, as you must know, Major Falconer.”

When he remained silent, watching her face, she raised her brows. “Was that all?"

She saw his lips twitch into another smile at her attempted dismissal of him.

“No, it was not all.” He reached forward. His fingers brushed against her neck very lightly and lingered, warm against her skin. “You had better hide that curl if you do not wish anyone else to guess your secret. Your hair is still wet. You must have rushed home and dressed in a great hurry.”

* * * * *

AG: Sounds fabulous, Nicola. Thank you so much for joining us on Word Wenches.

Nicola is giving away a copy of Unmasked and her previous HQN title, Lord of Scandal. To enter in the draw for one of these books, answer the following question: Which historical era fascinates you the most and what is your favourite book set in that era?

On Monday, 4/27, Nicola Cornick will be the guest of Anne Gracie. Nicola is a very popular, prolific and well respected English writer of historical romance. She's written twenty-three historical romances for Harlequin Mills and Boon (Harlequin Historicals) and seven for HQN Books. As well as being popular with readers all over the world, she's finalled for such prestigious awards as the RWA RITA, the UK Romantic Novelists’ Association's Romance Prize and for Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards. She's a passionate historian, she gained an honors degree in Medieval History from London University, and went on later to study for a Masters degree at Ruskin College at Oxford University. Her dissertation was on heroes.

Then on Wednesday, 4/29, PATI NAGLE will be Mary Jo Putney's guest. Pati lives in the mountains of New Mexico, and like many writers, she is easily distracted from the throes of creativity by her numerous pastimes, which include gardening, going to tea, making music, cooking, digital photography, role-playing games her writer buddies, and all sorts of card games, from bridge to poker. She's been writing science fiction and fantasy since the 1980s, and her stories have appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Cricket, and several anthologies. She has also written historical novels as P.G. Nagle. Her fantasy novel The Betrayal debuted this year.

And hold onto your hats, because on 5/1 our NEW WENCH makes her curtsy! We're keeping it a mystery until Friday, but here's hint: she's been a guest before, and is an Honorary Word Wench who just won a Romantic Times award. She'll be joining us on a regular basis starting Friday.

Here's Charlie peering out through the flowers my publisher sent when The Secret Wedding made the NYT list. It'll be in the paper this coming Sunday at #14. So yay! And thanks to everyone who's bought the book.

There's an excellent review up on the Book Smugglers Blog and there'll be an interview with me on that site round about now. I can't remember what I said, because that is in the past, which is sort of what this blog is about. Have to start with the cover of the book, of course, but then on to time -- the weird time sense of an author. This came to mind today when I went to tape a radio interview for a program here in BC called North By Northwest. (It'll be podcast in a few weeks and I'll let you know where you can hear it.) I was chatting to someone in the station and I mentioned that I was having to put my mind back into The Secret Wedding because currently my brain is mostly engaged with The Secret Duke, Ithorne's story, which will be out next April.

Of course the number of segments an author's mind is split into depends on how many books she writes and has published in a year, but there's alwaysThe past -- the stories recently finished but somewhere in the production line, including most aspects of any being published now, because the business of publication is done by others.The present -- the story being written now, plus any book being published now, because I'm likely to be doing interviews and being asked questions about it.The future -- stories in the planning stage, ones being proposed and accepted for future publication, and those vague twinkles in the imaginary eye.

I like the idea of living in the now, but at times it's very difficult to tell when that is.Talking of time, sort of, consider poor Dorothea Doderidge, fixed for all time in such an uncomfortable position

So for me, nowThe past: The Secret Wedding and the old traditional Regencies that are going to be reissued because I have to pull them back into mind to advise about cover details and such.The present: The Secret Wedding because of interviews and such. The Grail novella, which I finished recently and is now in editing. The Secret Duke, which is really where my mind is now. Covers for The Stanforth Secrets, and soon The Stolen Bride. And it's even cover time for The Secret Duke, out next April! The future: an SF novella for a collection called Star Crossed Lovers. Whatever novel comes next. I'm hoping the muse visits with a really nifty idea, otherwise I'll have to work on that consciously.On time, consider this jug. In itself it isn't that wonderful item. Its value comes from time because it's a rare survivor from the 12th century. It's from a temporary exhibit at Exeter where a new museum is under construction.

There are other odd aspects to time. For a reader, a book read now is in the present, but for an author it can be in the distant past. Readers will sometimes ask me specific questions about a book I wrote 15 or more years ago. I love that they're enjoying the book, but detailed questions about character motivations or such can befuddle me, and then I feel like a bad parent who's forgotten a child.

30+ children are hard to remember, though!

I sometimes think I should set aside some time and read all my books in storyline order. It would be fascinating, but it would take a while.This picture is of some of the city wall in Exeter, originally built by the Romans, and as it says, repaired by many others over time.

There are other time shifts in life. Gardening, for example, where we have to plan in one season for results in another. Can you think of others? Do you have multiple time zones in your life?

And perhaps "now", the ever present moment, is the rarest time to be. How often do we manage that? And a convoluted question. If we're absorbed in reading a historical novel, are we in the now, or the then?

Here's the Ship Inn in Exeter, which as the sign says, was Sir Francis Drake's favorite.Feel free to share any thoughts you have on time.

I'll award a book to one randomly picked commenter on the subject of time.

Cheers,

Jo

PS, cheers for Typepad. This time, when I clicked on preview, I got a screen shot of how it would actually look. So any oddities are entirely mine own. :)

Spring is often the time for change, whether big changes like weddings and graduations to the more ordinary (though no less welcome!) ones like the grass turning green again and the days growing warmer.

Things are changing here at the Wenches, too. My book-writing is going to have to take precedence over my blog-writing –– I’m feeling a bit like Alice with the Red Queen urging her to run (or write) faster, faster, faster! –– and, sadly, I’m following Edith and Loretta into Wench Emerita status. This will be my last appearance here at the Wenches for a while.

I promise that Loretta and I will both return in July (tentatively the week of 7/13) with a pair of mutual interviews. She’ll be discussing her new book, DON’T TEMPT ME, in stores June 30. I’ve had the delicious honor to read this book already, and can tell you it’s Loretta Chase at her very best. I can’t wait to ask her questions about what inspired her story and characters, and how exactly she learned so much about harems. 'Nuff said! Loretta in turn will be interviewing me about THE FRENCH MISTRESS, in stores July 7, and I'm sure she's preparing some dandy questions for me as well. Please stop by and visit us then –– we have a few surprises planned! In the meantime, I’ll keep my website (www.susanhollowayscott.com) updated with news about my books and other upcoming events.

Before I go, I want to thank both the Wenches and the readers of this blog. Many thanks for your friendship and support. I'll miss both.

And I can’t think of a better way to close than with this recent news photo, below, taken during President and Mrs. Obama’s visit with Her Majesty the Queen of England. Astute readers of my books watching the newscasts at once recognized the painting behind Mrs. Obama, there in Buckingham Palace: the portrait of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, that graces the cover of my first historical novel, DUCHESS. Three cheers for strong, intelligent women of every era and nationality!

It's been rainy and cold, and I’m dragging myself through a final edit on the book due this week. I’m sick and tired of the whole story at this point. I’m dying to play with new ideas and new characters and I just want the old ones gone.

That's also kind of the way I feel about my kitchen’s current state of demolition. Nothing like wrecking a kitchen while finishing a book! It was quite satisfying when they were hauling out the cranky old stove and leaky dishwasher and the cabinets that threw plastic washers into my soup. The project got a whole lot messier when they ripped out walls to remove the old tile. But then they brought in all the pretty new cabinets…and things looked good.

But two weeks into eating out of a microwave and I’m ready to send this project to bed! The counter top hasn’t arrived. The new tile and appliances can’t be installed until the counter is in. My lovely pumpkin and yellow paint will no longer work with my new maple cabinets, so I need to find a whole new color scheme for the entire back of the house because we have an open floor plan. The antique bronze hardware I envisioned won’t work with anything, and I have to rethink the metal. It’s one lousy edit after another. I’m ready to get this over and go outside and play in my garden. Or redesign the master suite…

I love the creative process, but the details are a real pain! Does anyone else find themselves in this same boat? Envisioning gorgeous sweaters but not finding the right wool or design? Digging up the front yard but only producing a few dead plants?

Umm, did I mention that I just dug up the side yard? Those sick bushes aren't there any more. Destruction, gotta love it!

And as a side note, I've been writing a blog about how authors are paid over on my personal blog site http://patriciarice.blogspot.com/. It's geared toward new writers but for anyone who ever wondered how authors are paid, you might skim through it. It might give you new insight into why writers have a penchant for destruction!

‘Tis a truth universally acknowledged that in hard economic times, romance novels sell well.” Readers want a good story with a happy ending. (And that includes me!)

So booksellers are doing their best to get books into our hands. One such bookseller is our guest today, Sue Grimshaw, the much respected and much loved romance buyer of Borders. (http://www.borders.com )

Sue is known for her enthusiasm and knowledge of the genre, and for her generous support of authors. She has received numerous awards and recognitions, including RWA's 2008 Vivian Stephens Industry Award, which recognizes a “professional in the romance-publishing industry who is not a writer, and whose accumulated body of work has contributed to the genre in a significant and continuing manner.”

Sue Grimshaw has attended numerous romance writing conferences, and willingly shares her experience of the genre. Today, Sue will talk to us about her views of the romance genre, and discuss new initiatives Borders is taking to sell more romance.

MJP: Sue, your official bio says that you joined Borders Group (BGI) in Ann Arbor in 1995, and you’ve been the romance buyer for over eight years. How did that come to pass?

SG: I’ve been in the retail industry for years. I started working at Kmart stores and then I advanced to buyer of cosmetics. Then, a buying opportunity arose at Waldenbooks. After a quick flight to Connecticut, I made a job change to become a Childrens book buyer. A little more than a year later, I moved to Non-fiction, then on to Romance, which has been my dream category.

MJP: You mentioned in your e-mail that romance does very well at Borders.com, and is usually the second or third top selling genre within Fiction. I’ve been to Borders new True Romance page ( www.bordersmedia.com/trueromance ) and it’s very cool! Can you tell us some of the new things you’re doing there?

SG: Our Borders TRUE ROMANCE online program is a new endeavor for us. The videos feature interviews with bestselling authors such as Lisa Jackson and Lisa Kleypas talking about their new book releases. I have to say that we’ve been quite pleased with the viewing response we’ve received. It was just another format for us to reach the reader in a viral marketing world and to offer readers something they can find no where else – unique insight into how their favorite authors think and write.

MJP: I asked the other Wenches if they had particular questions to ask you, so here there are! First, “maybe she could talk about what makes a great story for her as a reader. Any pet peeves? Any stories she'd like to see? “

SG: I cannot stress enough that stories should be told in the third person. Romance readers need to experience that conversational reaction between the hero and heroine – we have to know how each is thinking and why they are reacting a certain way. To me, it can make or break a story.

MJP: Do you see any growth in other areas of historicals besides Regencies? How about other areas of romance?

SG: Regencies continue to be the bestselling timeframe in historical romances; however, a well camouflaged Georgian setting, like that in Eloisa James stories, can also sell well. Paranormals continue to show double-digit sales gains. Soft romance in the contemporary genre is definitely filling a niche for our readers.

MJP: Covers are always a huge topic of discussions with historicals! Do you see any new trends in covers? What do you think works?

SG: Historical covers need to be sexy and yet tasteful. A hero and heroine embracing is always a winner. Strong colors often work well with the costumes of the time period. A Medieval will typically benefit from a handsome torso. The caveat to this is that big, bestselling authors can usually get away with anything.

MJP: In years as a writer, a number of promotional approaches have become popular, from the first bookmarks to trailers and blogging. Is there any particular promotion for romance that you'd like to talk about? Encourage more of?

SG: First and foremost, authors should have their own Web sites. However, rather than the author having to manage the blogging, etc – which can take a chunk out of the day – my advice is to work with other authors on one main site and link to it to fill your page. I am still a firm believer that in-store placement is the most important promotional element needed to sell your books. Getting out and visiting stores generates word of mouth that is infectious –booksellers are your friends and I really encourage authors to get to know them.

MJP: Any thoughts you'd like to share on e-books and (or versus) traditional print?

SG: Authors, make sure you link Borders.com to your sites, newsletters, etc. Romance is one of our top three categories in terms of online sales and you don’t want to miss out! Digital purchases are strong, too. The digital market is continuing to evolve – don’t count it out as it will play a bigger role in our business moving forward. In my mind, traditional print is still the life blood of the category as we readers LOVE the sexy covers, but again, lots of people are discovering devices like the SONY Reader Digital Book which allows them to store lots of books on one device.

MJP: How can we get more men reading romance? <G>

SG: Men are funny creatures, but we love them! I wish I knew the secret to this question as that would really expand out reader base. Hopefully as the stigma of the category disappears we’ll see more men wandering into the section. Men definitely are reading our suspense authors’ stories.

MJP: Thanks so much for visiting, Sue! Any last thoughts I didn’t think to ask about?

SG: A BIG THANK YOU to all of the authors for continuing to write the books we love. You give us insight into the times in our lives when we thought we were facing things on our own; and you continue to show us that life can be filled with happy endings. Also, thanks to you all for your continued support of Borders – I truly appreciate it. Keep your eyes on Borders.com and our new TRUE ROMANCE program (http://www.bordersmedia.com/trueromance). We have lots of wonderful things planned so feel free to link to your site and begin that viral marketing now!

The covers shown here are all ones that Sue has picked as being effective at point of sale. Lots of variety--but as you can see, handsome men are always in fashion! What questions do you have for our expert?

Mary Jo, who has added a couple more covers Friday morning. (Jo's cover is a great example of historical romance!)

"The world is too much with us, night and day," which is why our Wench Edith is going on hiatus. She's too swamped to post today so I'm filling in. Hopefully she'll be aable to take a proper curtain call later.

I shall miss Edith's wonderfully witty posts, but I'd miss her wonderful books even more, so I shall wish her fingers fast typing, and I'm blowing Daisy Dog a kiss.

One the plus side, now I can mention that on Friday, we have a very special guest: Sue Grimshaw, the romance buyer for Borders, will be paying us a visit to talk about how she sees the market, and what treats Borders has in store for readers.

(Brief Pause while Wench removes Fluffy Cat from keyboard, a process said feline much resents.)

So see you on Friday--and on May 1st, a new Wench will join us for fresh views and voices--

Mary Jo, adding a rose because the April showers outside are supposed to bring us May flowers, right?

It’s a pleasant reader fantasy that all of us writers visit every place that’s mentioned in our books. Alas, for every writer fortunate enough to be able to document step-by-step visits to exotic locales on her or his web site (Here’s the house where my hero was born in London! Here’s where he fought a duel in Paris! Here’s where he met the heroine in Rome!), there are far, far more of us who can’t. I’m in that category: with two kids in college and a tumbling economy, there’s not much room in my budget for research junkets, no matter how much I long to travel.

Of course all is not lost. Like endless historical writers before me, I rely heavily on diaries, journals, and other contemporary accounts to reconstruct “my” version of the past. Facts and experience are important, but not nearly as much as a healthy imagination, which is both free and priceless. Besides, after 300 or so years of wars, occupations, fires, and modern progress, the places I’m writing about often no longer exist, or have changed so dramatically that they’d be unrecognizable to my characters.

But by far the most spectacular research for stay-at-home writers comes by way of the internet. The first part of my July book, The French Mistress, takes place at the French court of Louis XIV, where my heroine, Louise de Keroualle, is a maid of honor to Henriette-Anne d'Angleterre, Duchess d'Orleans. The French king had only just begun to build the Chateau de Versailles (a tiny part of the chateau is shown left) into his grandest palace while Louise was there in the late 1660s, but I still found plenty at the Chateau’s website to help me describe where her quarters might have been, where she would have been taken to meet in private with Louis to discuss her espionage missions to England, and exactly how far she would have walked with the Duke of Buckingham to reach the Grand Canal in the Chateau’s enormous gardens. (The famous Hall of Mirrors wasn’t constructed until after Louise had left the French court for the English one at Whitehall, but here’s a delightfully dizzying panorama visit, and without any modern tourists, too. And here are more, including a glimpse of the king’s bedchamber.)

While I was “visiting”, I also discovered that Versailles will be hosting a fantastic exhibition this spring called Court Pomp: Court Dress in Europe, 1650-1800, featuring rare costumes from the collections all over Europe, and appropriately sponsored by Chanel! (Many thanks to fellow historical novelist Sandra Gulland, author of a wonderful Versailles-set book, Mistress of the Sun, for alerting me about the exhibition.) No, I can’t go in person, but the web site for the exhibition is a treat, like a grand picture-book. Beautiful Baroque music plays as a background to breathtaking photographs, and there’s even a detailed glossary of fashion terms for court dress to download as a pdf. My favorite is at right: the late 18th century gown from Rose Bertin, Marie-Antoinette’s dressmaker. I don’t know if this site will remain live after the exhibition closes in June, so go feast your eyes now.

Which brings me to my question for you. Despite its reputation for love and romance and seduction, beautiful places and fabulous food and fashion, France remains unpopular with NYC publishers. English settings outnumber French ones by an astonishing degree, and there are precious few French heroes to be found anywhere. Henry VIII and the Prince Regent are everywhere at Barnes & Noble, while Francois I and Louis XIV (he's there to the right) are scarce. Maybe it's the common language of English-English and American-English that makes England seem somehow more accessible? Do American readers hear Pepe Le Pew's voice coming from every French hero's lips? Or is it still some lingering fear of eating frogs' legs and snails?

On the other hand, it's this same Francophobia that forms one of the biggest conflicts of The French Mistress. Although Louise de Keroualle lived fifteen years in England as an unofficial diplomat at the English court as well as the favored mistress of the English king, she was always considered a greedy, dangerous foreigner, and was out-and-out despised by the English people. As a writer, I found Louise's challenge to balance her French heritage with her place in London to be a fascinating one. The perpetual outsider, she found love, power, and rewards, but never the respect (and the respectability) that she so desperately wanted. I'm hoping readers will enjoy her story, too.

So do you believe there's a "French jinx"? Do you personally reject a book if it's set in Paris rather than London? Or for a change, would your rather see more stories set on the far side of the English Channel? There's no right or wrong answer here: I'm just curious. Any opinions?

Congratulations to Wench Emerita Loretta Chase, who got a mention on National Public Radio recently! Sarah and Candy of Smart Bitches have recommended Lord of Scoundrels as a book to read for those who've never read a romance.

If you haven't noticed already, we have added a new page to the blog, cleverly labeled as "Additional Pages." It's in the sidebar to the right, just below the e-newsletter link.

Our first entry in the new page is a freebie for you: bookmarks. (small version above)

These bookmarks are for Jo Beverley's The Secret Wedding, and Susan Fraser King's Lady Macbeth. (Special thanks to Andrea Pickens, who designed the bookmarks!) These books were released this month. We'll add more bookmarks and other goodies in the future, when appropriate.

Just click on the Bookmarks link in the right sidebar and it will take you to the new page. From there you can print from the file, or do "save as" and save to your computer. It's a 5 MB file, so please be patient as it loads. (You'll need an Adobe reader. Free download here)

Hi, Anne here, at the beginning of Easter. I've always enjoyed Easter. Here it's a public holiday, a four day "weekend" when most shops and businesses close down and many people hit the road on Thursday afternoon and hope for a last burst of warm weather. It's traditionally a family time, and it usually starts with hot cross buns on Friday morning. Mostly I buy them from the supermarket and heat them up, but there's nothing better than hot, home- baked buns fresh from the oven, so here's a recipe for hot cross buns from the wonderful Delia Smith.

Sunday's the next most important day and whether you go to church or have an Easter egg hunt for the kids (or both) many families get together on the Sunday for a big roast dinner.

Often, during my childhood, Easter was a time for barbecues in the bush. Dad disdained special equipment for barbecues -- a piece of tin and a box of matches was all we needed, apart from food. We kids would be sent scouring the bush for wood and we'd build a rough semicircle with river stones and get a fire going while Mum and my godmother and various other Easter regular visitors would butter bread or slice tomatoes. Then we'd cook sausages and lamb chops, washed down with tea for the adults and cold water straight from the stream for us. All very simple, but a veritable feast to us kids -- there's something about cooking and eating out of doors, isn't there? This is the river along which many of those barbecues were held -- beautiful, isn't it? If you want to read a little more detail about those barbecues, go here.

Another Easter ritual in my family was the reading of The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, by Dubose Heyward, illustrated by Marjorie Flack. I still have my copy. It's a lovely story with beautiful illustrations and I'm delighted to see it's still in print today.

I've also enjoyed Orthodox Easter celebrations, both overseas and in Australia. I remember long, chilly, midnight services, and then the moment when the candle-flame is passed from person to person and it's utterly beautiful in its simplicity. I love the cracking of the red eggs and all the delicious food that follows, though not the lamb's innards soup — it's an acquired taste, I'm told ;)

I also adore eggs of all sorts, especially chocolate ones. When I was a kid we started the Sunday at crack of dawn with an Easter egg hunt, but we weren't supposed to eat them until after church. I can tell you, there was much furtive crackling of foil during Sunday school ;)

Then there are the intricately decorated eggs. My schoolfriend Nadija, who's of Ukrainian background, used to make the most beautiful eggs, painstakingly waxed and dipped in dye and rewaxed and dipped.

And look at these brilliant eggs, made by Danish egg carver, Franc Grom,

who drills away the shell to make the most beautiful delicate designs. Read more about his creations here.

If Easter is wet, kids can get very bored, so here are a few craft activities that might help. Here's a site that gives some lovely, simple ideas for decorating eggs at home, including the use of natural dyes from your garden and kitchen.

Pop-up cards are easier to make than you think. Here's a good tutorial.

Try making Danish woven paper hearts. They're perfect for putting a few little eggs in. Looks complicated but isn't. Here are some more Danish heart designs from Margit Ammentorp. I made these from her printable designs. Click on the link for the pattern for the robins, the pandas or the poppies.

So, what will you be doing this Easter? And do you have any special memories of Easters from your childhood. Any special recipes or crafts? And if you don't celebrate Easter, what do you celebrate around this time of year?

Hi, it's the Jo and Charlie show! Of course we took Charlie to England with us and he went for a little fly on windy Dartmoor. (This is a sort of photo blog, but Typepad doesn't really have a way of previewing exactly how pictures will show, so forgive the layout probrems.)

He also met a redheaded wench. As she was naked, he gallantly gave her his second-best sparkly cloak. What a hero!

He also did some research for me.

Another kind of hero!

That's a very interesting book, BTW, especially in the context of my Grail novella, and is my first surprise along the way. It suggests that the terraces around the tor, or hill, at Glastonbury, Somerset, are not exactly terraces but the paths of a labyrinth that circles up to the top. A labyrinth, of course, is not a maze but a laid-out path used for meditation and spiritual enlightenment.

There was a monastery at the top of Glastonbury Tor, of which only a tower remains and it has been a center of myth and mystery since pre-Christian times.

Sometimes Charlie prefers lighter reading.Yes, The Secret Wedding is flying off shelves right now. Rush out and make sure you have your copy!Readers report that it's exciting, enthralling, and even funny. See relevant picture of cat. :)

I had no idea that Charles I had been canonized! Research showed this subject to be even more fascinating. There is an established Society of King Charles The Martyr, and more than one church dedicated to him.

He is the only person to be canonized by the Church of England. (Wikipedia adds "after the Reformation.") You can read the full article here.

If anyone here knows more about this, please share. Are you as surprised as I am?

My other surprise was at Truro Cathedral in Cornwall.

If you're familiar with Cathedrals you'll know that they usually have ranks of carved saints at the front, sometimes with an occasional important person of the time. Here's Exeter Cathedral, unfortunately part-shrouded by maintenance work.

So I glance up at the carved figures -- and my brain halts to try to compute what it's seeing. Alongside a medieval king...

is that Edward VII?

Huh?

It is, you know. Exeter is a modern cathedral in the gothic style, built in the late 19th century. Edward laid the cornerstone before the death of his mother, Queen Victoria, so this must have been added later. Victoria is there, too, of course, and also, I think Palmerstone.

The things one finds along the way.

Have you ever come across something that makes you stop to try and make sense of it? Tell me more.

Have you seen The Secret Wedding in stores yet? Where? How many copies? Where was it displayed?

Have you read it yet? Did you like it?

One thing about having one one new book out a year, it gets its full share of my doting authorial fussing. :)

And the Wenches are going to be trying something new that we hope you'll like -- downloadable bookmarks. Check back over the next two days, and as soon as they're ready, I'll announce it. We'd appreciate feedback about how well this works for you.

It's Tartan Day in the USA, when Scotland and the Scots are honored and celebrated for their legacy and heritage and their longstanding and continuing contributions to world culture. My own Scottish roots are through the Fraser clan -- some Highland ancestors came over here during the latter part of the Clearances -- and shown here is one of the main Fraser tartans. There are several of them, but this sett is based on some of the oldest records (in turn based on some of the oldest portraits), and is used by the Frasers of Lovat, one of the lines of the chief (Clan Fraser traditionally has two chiefs, Lovat and Saltoun by designation).

So here's to the Scots among us, and here's to bonny Scotland!

And this wee person of Fraser heritage has more than one reason to celebrate her Scottish heritage today ...

LADY MACBETH is now available in paperback! Let's all dance a quick jig, or more appropriately, a gille chaluim if you happen to have two swords at the ready -- cross them on the ground and go to!

Tuesday, April 7, is the release date for the new trade paperback edition of Lady Macbeth from Three Rivers Press. When you're out and about this week, please look for it on bookstore display tables– the new cover design will jump there, I think!

I am granddaughter to a king and daughter to a prince, a wife twice over, a queen as well. I have fought with sword and bow, and struggled fierce to bear my babes into this world. I have loved deeply and hated deeply, too....

"King manages to challenge all our preconceptions without turning the strongest female character in literature into a pantywaist. Her footwork on this fictional ground is sure and graceful." -- Bookpage

The new edition contains Reader's Guide questions to give book groups a running start on discussions. Also, the prologue and first chapter of my next book for Crown, QUEEN HEREAFTER: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland, are included as well.

Here's an excerpt of the new book, about the Saxon princess who married Malcolm Canmore and became Queen of Scots…the story is partially told by a female bard in Malcolm's court...

Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland

Prologue

Anno Domini 1078

Caught between two willful queens, I am, and should have taken more care to tread lightly—like crossing a stream over slippery stones when the current is strong and cold. Now that I have stumbled deep, who can say whether my two queens will forgive me or condemn me for what I have done at each one’s bidding. No servant, I am free to do as I please; they disagree.

I am called Eva the Bard, daughter of a short-lived king. I am also a devoted student of Dermot, once chief bard in Macbeth’s court. Dermot trained me in the ways of a seanachaidh: a thousand songs, a thousand tales, a thousand heroes keenly remembered through ancient ways of diligence, and more. Though I do not know my fate, I know my calling—to tell the old tales and coax melodies from the harp strings to soothe or excite the spirit. Some now accuse me of scheming, but my aim has ever been my craft, and honor. So say I.

The king and queen would order some monk with ink-stained fingers to record my betrayal on parchment, which would crumble over time; the lady in the north would order the account destroyed much sooner. Yet I would compose a song-poem to tell it whole, then take up my harp and sing it to some, who would teach it to others, so it would never be lost.

One queen might call it treason, the other tradition; and I might call it vengeance. . . .

To celebrate the release of the trade paperback of LADY M, I'm giving away an autographed copy of the spectacular new edition! To enter the contest, please leave a comment over the next two days, and answer one or more of these questions:

Do you read medieval-set historicals, and if so, what do you love about that era? Do you read Scottish-set medievals (and for those of you who don't read either - what don't you like about them) ?

We'll choose a random contest winner for the free signed copy of LADY M IN PAPERBACK! :D

I'm currently reading a fast-paced action mystery that is going to be impossible to solve because there are no clues. I'm interested in other elements of the story, so I'm fine with that. But I find myself skimming more and more as I progress into the story, looking for the elements that interest me. I'm skipping the sex scenes and only catching the dialogue in the action scenes. I really don’t care who boinks whom and how, any more than I care who gets shot with what caliber gun. I'm sure the book is well written and appeals to action fans, but I just don't care enough about the characters to read for anything except the fun elements like the puzzles and the ghosts. This is not a comment on the book so much as on my reading habits.

For example—I just finished a historical mystery that had almost nothing happening except the setting and the intriguing characters. I still settled in to happily wander through another time and place. I read every word, although I easily figured out the who of the mystery, so I didn’t even have the fun of a puzzle to keep me going. Reviews have described this book as boring, and I’m certain it is for people who love action and sex. But as I’ve already shown, my preference is for character and apparently setting, although they both have to be of a sort that intrigues me. I don’t read about bullies, for instance, and I have little interest in China.

Is this just a character flaw of mine? How do others choose what to skim and what to read word-by-word? When I’m writing, I'm often stumped by how much information to put into my stories, probably because of my own weird reading habits. Finding a balance between my interest in entertaining bits of history, eccentric character traits, and the need to keep the action moving is a challenge. I’d love to see how other people's reading habits correlate to mine. Any insights?

And as an aside, for those of you who have expressed interest in e-versions of my Magic series, MUST BE MAGIC is now out at Regency Reads. And if nothing else, take a look at Leila's lovely rose arbor on the cover!